CODEPINK Hosts DC Global Drone Summit, Nov 16-17; Gathering will feature representatives from Europe, Asia, the Middle East


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 23, 2013


Contact: Noor Mir, 845.625.3725, noor@codepink.org

    Medea Benjamin, 415.235.6517, medea@codepink.org


CODEPINK Hosts DC Global Drone Summit, Nov 16-17

Gathering will feature representatives from Europe, Asia, the Middle East



CODEPINK Summit: Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance

Time: Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm

Location: Georgetown Law Center, Hart Auditorium, Washington DC


Washington, DC –– In the wake of shocking new reports on the impact of US drone strikes put out by the UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the Global Drone Summit will bring together hundreds of people from across the US and around the world to discuss strategies to stop the proliferation of drones used for killing and spying. Entitled Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance, the Summit is organized by the peace group CODEPINK, along with the progressive think-tank Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, Center for Constitutional Rights, and National Lawyers Guild (Georgetown Chapter). The event is open to the press (must show valid press ID). Please email Alli@codepink.org to be put on the list.


Organizers will be bringing together drone survivors from Pakistan and Yemen, drone pilots, legal experts, human rights advocates, authors, social media experts, technology experts, artists and musicians, and grassroots activists for the international drone summit.


The program will include:

  • Opening Remarks by Dr. Cornel West

  • Victims' Testimonies: Honoring Voices, Acknowledging Lives

  • Drone Operators: Commanding the Machines

  • I Spy: Drones and the Surveillance State

  • Compensation: Helping with Loss

  • Global Action to Regulate Drones: The United Nations and the International Movement

  • Creative Resistance to Drone Warfare, Art and Poetry From Around the World

  • Film screenings throughout the weekend

  • Workshops on Sunday for direct action training, street theater, props making, social media and student organizing

  • Speakers include international law expert Mary Ellen O'Connell, ACLU's Hina Shamsi, Pakistani attorney for drone victims Shahzad Akbar, author of Drone Warfare Medea Benjamin, Retired Colonel Ann Wright, UK/Europe drone expert Chris Cole, renowned British scientist Noel Sharkey, and creator of DroneStream Josh Begley.


CODEPINK has been organizing against drone killings for several years, including taking delegations to Pakistan (2012) and Yemen (2013) to meet with drone victims. Watch the story of one of the Yemenis we met, Mohamad Al-Qawli, whose brother was killed in a drone strike. Al-Qawli, who is creating a network of drone strike victims, calls on the US to acknowledge the killing of civilians, apologize to the families and compensate them. Compensation is one of the topics that will be discussed at the summit.


On Friday, November 15 at noon, CODEPINK is organizing a protest march from the White House to the headquarters of dronemaker General Atomics, and a day of congressional lobbying and actions on Monday, November 18.



CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S. funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities.


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